Big News: A Fax Story
by fangs.number1.fangirl
Summary: Max and Fang have been married for four years. Are they ready to take the next step in their relationship?


Big News: A Max and Fang Story

I almost screamed when I looked at the little white stick in my hands.

"Oh my God," I whispered, barely holding on to the edge of the bathtub. I was feeling a little lightheaded.

"Max? Are you okay?" my mother's voice came from outside the bathroom door. I didn't answer. I could only stare at the pregnancy test. My heart was beating so loud I thought I could hear it. "Max? I'm coming in," Dr. Martinez warned.

I didn't say anything. When she entered, I looked at her with what must have been the most shocked expression I'd ever had in my entire life.

"What is it, honey?" she asked. Then she spotted the thing I held in my hands. Her hands flew to her mouth in surprise. "Oh my God."

She slowly sat down on the edge of the tub with me. I showed her the pregnancy test. It was positive.

"Ha-" she paused and put a hand to her heart, taking a moment to redeem herself. "Have you told Fang yet?" she asked. I shook my head. For a while, we were both silent. No noises came from the house, which was pretty much empty except for Total and Akila. But they were both asleep.

"Max. . . " my mother said sometime later. "You have to tell Fang."

"I know," I whispered. "But. . .when?"

"Whenever you think the time is right," she said. "Just don't wait too long."

I closed my eyes tightly and threw the pregnancy test into the trash, getting up to wash my hands.

"I'll tell him tonight." There was a note of finality in my voice, and I knew I couldn't back out of this. I had to tell him. The sooner the better.

"Good idea," said my mom. "Honey. . .I want you to know that I'm with you. I support you completely."

I turned around and hugged her.

"Thank you, Mom," I whispered.

I had never expected this. I had never expected to get pregnant. I don't know if I wanted to be. I wasn't going to get an abortion - I didn't have the guts to kill the baby like that. I would talk to Fang about giving it up for adoption.

There was a part of me that wanted to keep it, but there was a part of me that didn't want to risk it. I couldn't raise a baby in a life like mine! I mean, we hadn't been attacked in over two years. . .but that didn't mean that it couldn't happen anytime soon.

But maybe we could go into hiding. We could drop off the radar, disappear completely. Live underground, I don't know. Anything.

I placed a hand on my stomach, which now felt a little uneasy. I bent over the toilet to puke. My mom held my hair back. When I was done, I wiped my mouth and washed my hands again.

Then I burst into tears.

"I don't know what to do," I cried into my mother's shoulder. "I'm scared, Mom."

"I know sweetie," she whispered, stroking my hair. "I know."

Later that night, Fang and I sat in our room. We sat across from each other on the bed. I wasn't meeting his eyes, nervously fiddling with a loose thread on my t-shirt.

"Max? What's wrong?" he asked, scooting closer to me. He rubbed my knee. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I lied. "I'm. . .fine. I just, um. . .have to tell you something."

"Anything," he said gently. "What is it, sweetheart?"

I closed my eyes and bit my lip hesitantly.

I had to tell him. There was no turning back. I'm Maximum Ride. I am not a quitter.

I took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.

"I'm pregnant," I whispered.

His expression was shocked and scared, at first. His eyes widened, and it was the most scared I'd ever seen Fang. For a moment, all my hope collapsed. Tears filled my eyes.

"Max. . ." Fang whispered. He held me tightly in his arms. "Don't cry. We're gonna get through this."

"I'm scared," I admitted.

"I know," he said. "I'm here."

And suddenly, those two words seemed to fill me with faith. Suddenly, I had hope again. Fang did that to me a lot. We will get through this. Together. We'd been through so much together already, and a baby was something small compared to everything else. It really wasn't that big of a deal. I remembered when Dr. Gunther-Hagen had proposed the idea to me when I was younger. . .but I had been fifteen at the time. I wasn't ready.

I'm older now. Twenty-two. Still young, but. . .ready.


End file.
